


safe and warm in your coat of arms

by santiagoswagger



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, So fluffy I wanna die, origin story of the matching shoes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 06:02:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12905634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/santiagoswagger/pseuds/santiagoswagger
Summary: After an exhausting double shift at the precinct, Amy comes home to a surprise from Jake.Inspired by a post from @juliadorable on tumblr about Jake and Amy's matching shoes in the '99' promo pics!





	safe and warm in your coat of arms

It was no secret that Amy Santiago hated shopping, perhaps more than anything in the world. She always had, even as a child; being the only girl in a house full of boys meant that anything she wore would end up stained or torn almost immediately, so she tended to wear whatever was clean. As an adult, the idea of dropping wads of cash on trendy clothes she hardly had the time to wear just didn’t make sense to her. She had a fairly sizable collection of blouses and pantsuits for work, all compliant with the NYPD dress code, but her cache of personal clothing items was sparse, to put it lightly. She’d made the effort over the years to find a few pairs of jeans that fit well and had collected some fun, after-work blouses to wear on her days off. She even owned some nice date night dresses that made her feel confident and she was sure Jake appreciated, given the way his eyes went soft every time she put one on. 

Her shoes, on the other hand, were a much sadder story. 

There were her sensible, heeled boots for work, of course – comfortable enough to wear to chase a perp, black leather (so they went with everything) and fashionable enough that she didn’t feel too frumpy when she wore them around the precinct. Then there were a few pairs of flats and low heels that went well with casual and dressed-up outfits, plus her gym sneakers, which only saw the sun when she had time to spare for a morning run on the weekends. 

Jake was constantly telling her that he didn’t care what she looked like – he’d literally once said she could wear a shower curtain as a dress and still be beautiful – and Amy would rather stick pins in her eyes than change the way she dressed for a boyfriend. The one thing he couldn’t wrap his head around was her tiny, dismal shoe collection. Jake never did anything small in life, always in search of a blaze of glory, a trait that certainly extended to his clothing arsenal. In addition to his ridiculous number of flannel shirts, and his three (yes, three) expensive leather jackets, Jake had a pretty serious shoe problem. If Amy had a dime for every time Jake came home from a day at the outlet mall carrying an overstuffed bag of sneakers, she’d be moving to a penthouse on Fifth Avenue any minute now. 

Amy tried her hardest to be supportive of his obsession but she truly did not understand the difference between the Air Jordans he drooled over and the pink-striped Nikes she wore to exercise. His only response to her confusion was, “It’s a lifestyle, Ames! A lifestyle!” It didn’t really answer her question, but she loved seeing him so passionate about something, even if it was his dumb sneakers. 

One Saturday, Jake had the day off and decided to make the day-trip to New Jersey and scour the outlet mall for good deals on new shoes. He’d recently scuffed his favorite pair of sleek, white sneakers and was devastated, so he was on the hunt for a replacement pair. Amy was stuck working a double shift at the precinct that weekend so he took Charles to Jersey as his co-pilot. Amy had groaned on her way out of the apartment that morning, cursing the powers that be for giving her a weekend double shift with Hitchcock, of all people, Jake’s sympathetic smile kissing her goodbye as she walked out the door.  
While Amy was elbow-deep in paperwork at the precinct and trying to block out the horrifying sounds Hitchcock made as he ate an entire pizza by himself, she texted her boyfriend to see how his day was going and ask him if he wanted her to pick up takeout on her way home that night. He didn’t respond right away, which was unlike him; the three chat dots usually appeared under her texts immediately after she sent them and were often followed by a string of random, unrelated emojis. She didn’t have time to overthink it, however, when she was assigned an urgent bodega B&E and she hurried to the crime scene a few blocks over to investigate. 

When Amy finally returned to the precinct two hours later and had time to check her messages, she saw that he had responded (“Hey girlfriend, I’ve got dinner locked down. See you later tonight!”, accompanied by a winky face, six red hearts and the praying hands emoji). She smiled softly to herself at his proper punctuation and shook her head at his emojis, turning to the mountain of files on her desk. She had a robber to catch. 

Amy left the precinct at seven-o-clock on the dot that evening. The double shift had really done a number on her and all she wanted to do was go home, put on her comfiest sweats and eat bad takeout with Jake. She turned her key in the lock and opened the door to their apartment, breathing a heavy sigh of relief the minute she passed the threshold. But as she walked further inside, she was startled to find her favorite Polish takeout spread out neatly on the dining room table, complete with her floral china and nice silverware. A bottle of red wine and two full glasses had been placed next to the styrofoam takeout boxes and she suspected it was the bottle of cabernet she’d been saving for a special occasion. She also spotted a large, red gift bag sitting on the chair Amy usually claimed as her own. 

She was frozen in place, taking in the strange scene before her with a slightly slacked jaw, when Jake absentmindedly walked out of her kitchen carrying napkins. His eyes lit up when he saw that Amy was home and he swiftly crossed the room to peck her quickly on the lips, tossing the napkins unceremoniously on the table. 

“Hey, babe. How was work?” He said it so nonchalantly, like he hadn’t put together most romantic tablescape in the history of their dining room. 

Amy tilted her head to look at him. He was smiling and gazing at her intently in the way that always caught her off guard as he adjusted the napkins he had previously tossed aside, placing them gently next to each plate setting. She tucked her knotted hair behind both ears as she answered, “Fine, just busy. It looks like you’ve been busier, though.” She gestured to the table and smiled with her mouth closed, one eyebrow raised in silent question. 

Jake’s ears turned slightly pink and he scratched the back of his neck. “I just- I thought you could use a pick-me-up after today. You hate Saturday shifts.” He brought his arm back down to his side and shrugged. 

Amy’s heart swelled. It wasn’t the first time in their relationship that Jake had been this thoughtful and romantic, not by a long shot, but it never failed to catch her by surprise. He constantly went out of his way to show her he cared and it meant more to her than any “I love you”. 

She crossed the room in three strides of her sensible boots and kissed him, taking his face in both of her hands. His hands came up from his sides to cradle her back and pull her body tightly into his. A minute later, they pulled apart and smiled at each other before her growling stomach interrupted their quiet moment. 

“So, dinner?” Amy asked, her hand moving to brush his flannel-covered bicep affectionately. 

Jake laughed and said, “Certainly, m’lady.” He made a big show of pulling out her usual dining chair, hastily moving the mysterious gift bag to the floor beside him. 

They ate potato pancakes and pierogis together, catching each other up on their days. Amy told him all about Lohank’s cabin foreclosure and he helped her theorize motives for the string of homicides she was working. He told her all about his day off, which mainly consisted of the amazing soft pretzel he’d eaten between stores and how he’d tried to convince Charles to buy clothes that weren’t beige; he had not been successful. 

When he was finished describing the pretzel, she paused before deciding to rip the band-aid off. “Alright, tell me about the sneakers. How many pairs did you buy this time?” She could care less about sneakers, but she loved the way his eyes crinkled with excitement and his hand gestures kicked up about ten notches when he spoke about them. 

He laughed and put his hands up in self-defense. “Okay, okay. I wasn’t that bad today. I only bought two pairs. Are you proud of me?” 

She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head at him curiously. Buying only two pairs wasn’t bad at all, especially for someone in as much debt as Jake, but he usually came home with five pairs minimum after every trip to the Jersey outlets. “Only two? I thought the Nike outlet was having a huge sale. You said, and I quote, it was the sneaker sale of the century.”

He looked down at the table for a moment before looking back at her. She noticed his hands wringing in his lap, something he only did when he was nervous. “I’m trying to cut down on spending. Y’know, get my crushing debt under control.” He shrugged his left shoulder in false indifference, indicating he cared more than he wanted to let on. 

Amy melted. She reached over and grabbed his hand, giving it three soft squeezes. “Babe, that’s great. And, for the record, I’m really proud of you.” He squeezed her hand right back and smiled her favorite closed-mouth smile. “Alright, let’s see the shoes.” 

His eyes sparked mischievously and he crossed his arms tightly against his chest, leaning back in his chair. “Oh, Ames. I’ve been wearing my new kicks the whole time you’ve been home and you never even noticed. Some detective you are.” She looked down and, sure enough, there were brand new black-and-white sneakers on his feet under the table. Amy cursed herself inwardly for missing the obvious; she needed to say something to wipe the self-satisfied smirk off of her boyfriend’s face. Before she could come up with a retort, the smirk left his face on its own and morphed into something more sheepish and apprehensive. 

“I actually got you something today.” He leaned over the side of his chair and came back up with the mysterious gift bag she’d seen when she’d first walked in that evening. He placed it quietly on the table in front of her before clasping his hands together in his lap, waiting. She looked from his hesitant eyes to the silvery tissue of the bag and sifted through the wrapping until her hands hit something solid. She reached in and pulled out a cardboard shoebox. 

She couldn’t help but be surprised. Jake had never bought her clothing before; he knew it wasn’t her thing and they had such different tastes. He was much better at small, thoughtful gifts anyway. Nobody knew her as well as Jake, so the shoes couldn’t be that bad, right? She steeled herself, preparing to plaster a fake smile on her face just in case the shoes weren’t her style. 

She pulled off the top of the lid and her eyes settled on a pristine pair of black-and-white sneakers, identical to the shoes Jake had purchased for himself. They were clean and simple, and she could tell immediately that they would go with most of her casual wardrobe. 

She looked up at Jake who was practically bursting with excitement – his hands were wringing nervously in his lap again and his lips were slightly upturned waiting for her response. His eyes were doing the crinkly thing she loved. 

“Jake, did you get us matching shoes?” She couldn’t hide the affection in her voice. 

His slightly quirked lips transformed into a full-blown, wide smile as he practically shouted, “Yes! So we can be twinsies!” She laughed outright, his glee starting to infect her. “And…”, his voice was quieter now, more serious. “I wanted to give you your first pair of non-exercise sneakers.” 

Amy knew what Jake wasn’t saying. He wanted her to share his passion, to understand him on a deeper level – the sneakers were a fragment of Jake’s identity and he wanted her to be a part of that. Amy had never loved him more. She leaned across the table and softly pressed her lips to his once again, stroking his left cheek with her right thumb as she pulled back. She looked him in the eyes directly and reassured him, “I love them. Let’s be twinsies.” He shook his head a little and grinned as Amy went to pull her boots off and put her new sneakers on. 

She had to admit they were cute and comfy, definitely nothing like the thick, heavy sneakers Jake usually gravitated to. She stuck her right foot out next to his left foot, their matching shoes lined up perfectly on the hardwood floor. She looked up at Jake and smiled, placing her hands on her hips in an attempt at a supermodel pose. “What do you think, babe?” 

Jake’s entire face lit up as he looked down at their shoes before sweeping his eyes back up to Amy’s face. “I think I’ve never been more attracted to you than I am right now.” 

Before she could even begin to respond, he gently grabbed her around the waist and picked her up bridal-style, jogging with her to their bedroom. Amy yelped and laughed, her hands clinging to his neck and her shiny new shoes dangling in the air. She didn’t care much about sneakers, but she would wear the hell out of them if they made him smile like that.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by @juliadorable on tumblr! Jake and Amy are wearing matching shoes in the 99th episode and I am here for it so I decided to write their origin story. 
> 
> Timeline-wise, this takes place sometime between 'Moo Moo' and 'Chasing Amy' in season four so Jake, a precious angel, was starting to save up for Amy's engagement ring and that's why he didn't go too crazy at the outlet mall. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Come say hi on tumblr @santiagoswagger :)


End file.
